Robert Blackwell Docking papers, 1966-1975

The papers of Robert B. Docking, governor of Kansas 1967-1974, date from approximately 1966 to 1975 and reflect his official duties and activities. These duties and activities include correspondence with State agencies and departments, constituents, and state Democratic party officials. The collection also reflects Docking's involvement, as governor, in the legislative process and in a variety of regional and federal programs and contains copies of his speeches and press releases.

BIOGRAPHY of Robert Blackwell Docking

Robert Blackwell Docking served as the thirty-eighth governor of Kansas. He served an unprecedented four two-year terms from January, 1967 to January, 1975. Docking was a Democrat, the first to unseat an incumbent Republican, which he did in 1966 by defeating Governor William Avery. Winning reelection (in 1968) he was only the second Democrat to serve two terms. The only other Democrat to serve as governor for two terms was his father, George Docking, who held the post from 1957 to 1961.

Robert Docking was born in Kansas City, Missouri, on October 9, 1925.
He attended elementary and high school in Lawrence, Kansas. Following high school, Docking attended the University of Kansas and received a Bachelor of Science degree with honors in 1948. He later received a certifi-cate of graduation from the Graduate School of Banking, University of Wisconsin. He entered the family banking business in Lawrence in 1950. In 1956, he and his family moved to Arkansas City, Kansas, when Docking became vice-president of the Union State Bank. He was named president of the bank in 1959, a position he held until his election as governor. Prior to his entrance into state politics, Docking served as mayor and as city commissioner in Arkansas City.

Docking married Meredith Gear on June 17, 1950. She was also a graduate of Kansas University and a member of Chi Omega sorority. The Dockings had two sons, William Russell and Thomas Robert.

The "Robert B. Docking Papers" contain a wide variety of materials that document Governor Docking's years in office, 1967 to 1974. The inclusive dates for the collection are November, 1966, to January, 1975, and the bulk of the material falls into the same period. The materials from November
--to December, 1966, are filed with January, 1967, and from January, 1975, with December, 1974, unless otherwise indicated.

These materials, in various combinations, form six major series of material which are as follows: 1) general filing (the term used by the Governor's office) which indicates correspondence, memoranda, and other material
relating to the numerous State agencies and to communications with constituents; 2) legislative, which includes copies of all bills for each legislative session with related notes and correspondence; 3) political, which includes campaign material, political correspondence, and miscellaneous political material; 4) patronage, which contains information about appointments to the various state boards and agencies, correspondence concerning appointments, and general requests for non-appointive jobs; 5) speeches and press releases of the governor and his assistants; 6) appearances and declines, which consists of requests for appearances by the governor and correspondence indicating his response. The collection also contains several minor series which are as follows: assistant's files, which consist of the correspondence of several of Docking's staff members; Ozark Regional Commission files, which include information on the Ozark Regional Commission and other coopera-tive programs; Governors' Conference materials; files of the Legal Advisor, including pardon and extradition materials; and some miscellaneous materials that do not fit into any of the preceeding series.

This collection not only documents the actions of Robert B. Docking as governor of Kansas, but also reflects the issues that were important to Kansans during Docking's eight years in office. Concern about specific issues, with the exception of legislative matters, is generally found in the general correspondence division of the general files. Docking's first years in office correspond to the last years of the United States involvement in Vietman. The collection, in the "Adjutant-General" portion, contains correspondence from Kansans reacting to American involvement and to the activation for duty in Vietnam of a unit of the Kansas National Guard. Campus protests of the war and the accompanying security problems are reflected in the "Regents," "Kansas Highway Patrol," and "Civil Disorders" files of the general correspondence. A growing concern about pollution is reflected in "Department of Health" files until the creation of an "Environment" file under "Health" in 1969. Concern about the proposal to establish an atomic waste disposal plant in Kansas is reflected in "Atomic Energy" files. The Governor's Committee on Criminal Administration was established in 1968 and was involved in improving law enforcement in the state and in handling drug abuse education programs. The "Social Welfare" files contain correspondence that illustrates some of the problems of low income families and, in 1971, contain protests about a wage reduction for employees in state health institutions. The general correspondence in 1971 and 1972 includes a file for "Wage-Price Freeze" which consists primarily of information about federal guidelines for implementing the freeze. The issue of cross-busing is reflected in the "Education" files for 1972. The fuel allocation problems of 1973 and 1974 appear in the "Kansas Department of Economic Development" files. Correspondence from national politicians and officials on specific issues (excluding election congratulations and get well messages) are filed either in "U.S. Officials," "U.S. Senators and Representatives," or in the appropriate subject files (such as Volpe--"Highway").

For the most part correspondence concerning such items as taxes, liquor by the drink, education funding issues, and daylight savings is in the legislative files.

No major gaps exist in the papers. Newspaper clippings are fairly sparse for 1969-1972 and "Appearances and Declines," with a few exceptions, before 1970 were disposed of by the Governor's staff because of storage problems. Some materials in the 1968-1969 files were damaged and others were destroyed during a water leak in the basement of the State Capitol and this accounts for the deterioration of some of the materials in these two years and for any gaps that might be apparent.

Supporting material for any of the State agencies, departments, and commissions might be found by consulting the official State publication holdings of the Kansas Collection or by contacting the specific group in Topeka. Supplementary material regarding the Regents and the University of Kansas can be found in the University Archives, Spencer Library.

There is also material related to Robert Docking in the Clyde Hill collection located at the Kansas State Historical Society.

This series consists of four major divisions: general correspondence, constituent correspondence, reading files, and press clippings. These four divisions are arranged together on a year by year basis for each year Docking was in office. The general correspondence division contains material filed under alphabetical subject headings representing the various State departments, agencies, commissions, and boards. The constituent correspondence division contains letters on a variety of topics (but not appropriate for inclusion in general correspondence) sent to the governor and his responses; sympathy, birthday, and anniversary messages; and, in appropriate years, election congratulations. The reading file contains a carbon copy of all letters sent from the governor's office and these are arranged chronologically by days. The press clippings are also arranged on a daily basis and generally consist of news stories from the Kansas City Star and Times, the Topeka Daily Capitol and State Journal, and the Wichita Eagle. Other clippings, primarily editorials from local newspapers throughout the state, supplement the news stories from the major Kansas papers.

This series is arranged on a chronological basis. Each year contains parchment copies of legislation; financial and content notes; veto messages, when they occurred; constituent correspondence on specific issues; and notes and memos from legislative assistants (filed under "Legislative Liaison" for each year). The container lists indicate the major topics of each session. Materials used by the governor and his staff in preparing the budget and legislative messages are a part of this series.

The Ozark Regional Commission is an interstate commission whose purpose is to plan for the use of natural resources and to sponsor cooperative projects for conservation or development when necessary. This series reflects the activities of the commission including grant proposals, reports of activities, and information publications.

This series consists of subject headings for all State agencies, commissions, and boards that have appointive members, and for any other appointments made by Docking. The legislative authorization; the current appointees and the duration of their terms; and correspondence for or against nominees for local
appointments such as sheriffs and judges are examples of the materials included in this series. The patronage files also contain numerous letters of application for jobs in various State agencies, departments, and on the governor's staff.

"Appearances and Declines" refers to requests to the Governor to attend
a specific event. If he decided to accept the invitation, the correspondence was filed with "Appearances" according to the date of the event, and any supplementary correspondence was attached to the initial invitation. If he did not accept an invitation the correspondence was filed under "Declines" chronologically by the date of the response. Also in this series are weekly schedules made up by the Governor's office and schedules for special events such as inaugurations.

The political filing is arranged in chronological order with subject divisions within a year reflecting the political activities of the year. Election years contain material on the major state races which includes campaign materials, press releases, and correspondence. Files were kept on presidential candidates and on national political leaders who visited Kansas. Each year filing also contained information relating to local, state, and national Democratic committees. This series also contains a wide variety of material relating to Docking's reelection campaigns and includes campaign publications, policy papers, correspondence, and some notes and memos on strategy.

This series contains materials on national and regional governors' conferences and is arranged chronologically. It also includes materials relating to the Council of State Governments, the coordinator of the conferences. The Council of State Governments material consists of newsletters, informational publications, and information about the activities of its executive committee (Governor Docking was a member 1973-1974). Also included are materials relating to the U.S.-Japanese Governors' Conference, April, 1974.

This series has the two divisions indicated in the title. The speeches and
the press releases are in chronological order. The speech division contains messages and remarks delivered by Governor Docking and "statements for the press" if they were issued at news conferences held outside of Topeka. The press releases, in addition to major policy announcements, include veto
messages, political appointments made by Docking, and speeches given by Docking's assistants if they were released to the press.

This series contains a portion of the files maintained by the following members of Governor Docking's staff: James Shaffer, Pat Burnau, Calvin Williams, John Ivan, James DeCoursey, Ted Sanborn, Dick Malloy, and Jerry Brindle. The filing method of each individual was maintained. Each portion reflects the job assignment of its creator.

Miscellaneous files include various office materials such as form letters, form letter enclosures, telephone messages, and general office reference information. Also included are scattered materials from the files of Mary Hanfelt (Governor's secretary). These include campaign material, telephone messages, office procedures and memoranda, and other miscellany.

The material listed below was received by the Library in 1991 as an addition to the existing Docking Collection. It has not been integrated into the separate series listed above, but reflects the same sort of material and time period as represented in the formal series. Researchers interested in material included in the formal series should also consult the contents listing for this addition.